Top Stories of The Week

Hello there

People come and go, and that’s especially true with companies and their employees. But behind every ebb and flow of talent leaving a company and joining another is a personal story that rings a truth that we all know but may choose to downplay: People matter and losing them is costly.

I've been in the workforce for more than a decade, and I’ve had my share of doing all sorts of jobs. Journalism wasn't my first gig and when I managed to cut my teeth in the trade, I began right at the bottom as a junior writer.

Every time there was a town hall, I'd hear my previous bosses pull that cliched bluster of "everyone is dispensable," only to backpedal when key staff start leaving. Then the typical song and dance ensues: The boss will counter offer, with some taking what seems like a new deal while others choosing to sever ties and move on.

That people are crucial to an organization can be gleaned from Capital A chief Tony Fernandes' LinkedIn post where he took aim at "new digital unicorns" who had poached his staff last year. But he wasn't the only one in the wilderness, as my colleague Putra Muskita would find out - MyTukar, the Malaysian arm of automotive marketplace Carro, also lost talent that year, too.

Where did these employees go? Carsome - the rival of Carro and, to a certain extent, Capital A as well.

Some of Capital A’s and MyTukar’s former employees have been climbing up the ranks in their respective companies for over five years. What made them jump ship, I wonder, given all those years of dedication?

There were whispers of Carsome poaching them, but the company told us that no such attempts were made.

Anyway, journalism requires me to stay factual, and the fact is Carsome is currently a magnet for top talent.

-- Emmanuel Samarathisa, journalist at Tech in Asia
 

TOP STORIES THIS WEEK

1. Capital A, MyTukar lost key execs to Carsome in 2021
The exodus involves junior and senior execs from across AirAsia’s marketing and tech divisions as well as MyTukar’s business development unit.

2. Unearthing Sea Group’s alumni network
Taking advantage of skill sets honed at Sea Group, the company's alumni have gone on to launch startups in different verticals.

3. The Philippines: Asia’s next crypto hub?
From big venture capital deals to increasing crypto ownership, the Philippines is fast becoming a hub for crypto startups. Here’s why.

4. Alibaba’s financial health in 5 charts
We analyze the financial figures reported by Chinese internet giant Alibaba.

5. This SPH veteran spun off his jobs platform to catch a big wave
Julian Tan's FastCo, which runs jobs platform FastJobs, is now working on its series A round - its first fundraise after the company's spin-off from SPH.

6. Analyzing MoMo’s super-app ambitions
We dissect the challenges for the Vietnamese unicorn as it plows ahead in the country’s fintech battleground.

7. How Polygon puts India at the heart of the crypto world
Polygon is leading India’s Web3 revolution, but the road to the top was long and hard.

8. Exclusive: Two heavy equipment startups backed by Indonesian super angel merge
WebTrace and TraktorHub, which are both backed by Prasetia Dwidharma, have merged into one entity to tackle the heavy equipment sector.

9. Org Chart: The people steering Lazada
We look at the crew leading Lazada Group as the firm celebrates its 10th year this month.

10. Carousell triples revenue to $40.6m in 2020
The Singapore-headquartered classifieds giant could list in the US through a SPAC merger as soon as this quarter.

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